Repertoire for White II

Description

♟️ A complete White repertoire — the second volume

Having a White repertoire that is both coherent and complete is one of the most valuable assets a club player can develop. It eliminates surprise, allows for focused preparation, and means that every game starts from a position you understand and have chosen. Watson’s two-volume repertoire series provides exactly that: a consistent, principled system for White based on 1.d4 and related systems.

This second volume covers the situations that arise when Black avoids the Queen’s Gambit with …d5. When Black plays the King’s Indian, the Grünfeld, the Nimzo-Indian, the Dutch or other irregular setups, White needs coherent answers that fit the overall plan of the repertoire. Watson provides those answers with the same depth and practicality that characterised the first volume.

🎯 Who is this book for?

• Players who have worked through Repertoire for White I and need the second half of the system
• Players who play 1.d4 and struggle against the Indian defences
• Intermediate players who want a complete White repertoire guide rather than separate opening books for each Black response

📖 Contents

The book covers White’s responses to Black’s Indian setups:

• Against the King’s Indian Defence: the Classical Variation and Watson’s recommended system
• Against the Grünfeld: the Exchange Variation and the Russian System
• Against the Nimzo-Indian: 4.e3 — the Rubinstein Variation from White’s perspective
• Against the Queen’s Indian: the standard system with Bd3 and 0-0
• Against the Dutch Defence: the recommended White setup
• Against other Black first moves and irregular systems

👤 About the author

John Watson is an American International Master and one of the most respected opening theorists writing in English. He is the author of Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy and Chess Strategy in Action, two landmark works on positional chess. His opening books are known for depth and intellectual rigour.

♟️ Why we recommend it at Chesscul

At Chesscul we recommend Watson’s two-volume repertoire as the foundation of White opening study for intermediate students. The coherence of the system — everything fits together logically — is its main practical advantage over collecting separate opening books.

🔗 Recommended companions

• Repertoire for White I: the first volume, covering the Queen’s Gambit and related systems — essential companion to this second volume.
• Endgame Planning II: Shereshevsky covers the endgames arising from the structures Watson recommends in this volume.
• The Power of the Minor Pieces: Timman’s bishop vs knight analysis is directly relevant to the middlegame decisions in King’s Indian and Grünfeld positions.